Windlass Tipups

[DRabbit]

Just wondering if you guys use the windless tipups that are jigged by wind movement. If you use them what do you think about them. Do they actually produce more fish than a regular tipup?

[adkRoy]

First of all you can only use them on warm days when the holes don't freeze over. Second you need to make sure the line is spooled in the right direction. I usually use mine in March and I seem to catch a few more fish on it than my others. But the can be a pain in the A$$ some times.

[J_MAKI]

But the can be a pain in the A$$ some times.

I will second that.

Jeremy

[icejunky]

I bought one last year...didnt really out produce the others...it is a pain to set-up..a lot more involved then your normal polar..They came highly recomended so I gave them a try

It may have worked better last season  if I had it spooled correctly...

[DRabbit]

Yeah, that is kind of what i expected to here so far. One of my friends was fishing with one and i kept telling him it wasnt that great. He did catch some fish on it, and it is a good idea but just seems like a hassle. I dont think i would have enough pacience for them.

Anyone else?  Would like to hear more opinions on them if you have them.

[iceintheveins]

My windlass is my favorite tip up. It gets more flags more consistantly than any of my other tip ups. It also is very easy to set off because of it's hair trigger nature. And the spool is very smooth revolving so the fish generally is able to run without much tension.
I usually bend the ends of the fan up when I want additional action from the wind. Usually I like just a subtle lifting action. Seems to work the best.
The biggest mack I ever hooked was on a windlass and we have landed 2 pike over 20 pounds just this year on the windlass. In fact well over half our flags usually come on the windlass.

[fzgil]

Could not stand the tangles tossed it!

[icejunky]

Fzgil..You will need to explain that one...What kind of tangles were you getting that forced you to toss out a perfectly good tip-up..What was the issue?

[Haywood]

I don't mind mine, one bit.  I love it for getting rid of my dead minnows.  It did take a little getting used to, but once you get the hang of it, they work fine. 

[TogueHunter]

I bought one last year near the end of the season.  It took a little while to learn how to set it up and to point it into the wind and bend up one of the fins to get the best action.  I've gotten 3 flags and one rainbow on it, and will always haul it out when the wind is right.
I made a modification to the flag that helps it to trip more consistently... I glued a 1/2" strip of sandpaper to the flag shaft where it slips under the spool.  This gives the flag a gripping action against the line and it won't false trip or have such a hair-trigger as the original smooth spring steel.

[fzgil]

Junky,
Have to admit I was a lot younger back then (less patience, now I fish with my 12YO and his friends) and my "Wind-lass" tip -up was old technology. Plastic tripod frame almost like the base of microscope, spool was above the water, wind vane was a plastic paddle with fins kind of like an old hood scoop, flag attached from the tripod past the paddle and down by the spool. It was quite a contraption... seemed like if something could screw up, it would, got sick of it and tossed it in the garbage (probably would have grown into it).

[NJ PIKER]

mostly use mine for pike with dead bait
last year in NY they out produced live bait 4 to 1
just brought 5 new ones for this year
mods include a 1/2" longer screw for the spool so a can add a couple of
nylon washers and a1/2" long spring. this way the spool can never freespool
or bind up. also drilled a 3/32" hole in an  1/8" from the end of the blade
to put hook in for storage.use to use the notch or line hole but hooks
would always fall out and tangle during transport.
also re-glued flag on end of spring the square way so i can fold them
around the spring when set. this they don't flap in the wind and you don't
see them till they go up. a lot of my friends use polars. a sprung polar
flag is about the same height as a set windlass

[TogueHunter]

I like the mods you've described that you made to yours NJ Piker, I have thought about doing some more work on mine so the spool works better, and the flag on these is kinda numb the way they glues it on.  I've thought about putting a bigger spool on also, but I think I might try your ideas first.  Mine kept tripping way too easy so I glued the strip of sandpaper to the flag rod so it grips the reel better.
HT has a pretty good concept, but they certainly could improve on the product.  I'm due for a new project, so I was thinking I might build my own wooden version of the WindLass, beef it up a bit and improve on their design.
Thanks for the ideas!   

[NJ PIKER]

the spring really makes for a smooth line feed
did the same thing to my lakers and got rid of the
star washer and wingnut.replaced them with a nyloc nut

[sphynx_000]

how do you guys bend the fins to get better action?

[TogueHunter]

how do you guys bend the fins to get better action?

I just put a slight bend one fin up and one down.    You can experiment with placing the front directly into the wind or away from the wind depending on the wind speed.  They don't work very well in stiff wind, as they can be tough to keep stabilized.
Maybe someone else has some better ideas.

[NJ PIKER]

I bend both fins up slightly and set with wind blowing from behind
I set the fin up about 5" from level for more action
experiment with both springs to get the action you want for
the wind you have,the weight of your bait and the fish your targeting
drill a second hole near by and scoop up the extra slush if
you need more to anchor your windlass and have no snow
they require more work and many times the payoff is worth the effort
have caught most of my biggest pike on these
just have to figure out a way to make them work when there is no wind

[iceintheveins]

I'm shocked I'm hearing this many complaints about windlass tip ups. My windlass is my best tip up. It's the smoothest, has a hair trigger setting, and also is the quickest to get the bait down to your desired depth.
I bend the two ends up if I face it into the wind and it jigs slowly and consistantly.
If you think windlass tip ups aren't the best out there, somethings wrong.

[TogueHunter]

with a little tlc chipping ice haha mine has always produced more fish on a breezy day i cant keep the flag down anyone else like these tipups?

You may be having the same problem I was having.  The flag being slippery steel slips really easy on ice fishing line, especially when it's wet, so the flag keeps popping out right?   I took a small piece of #60 sandpaper about 1/2" x 1" and glued it onto the flag post right where it would contact the line when the tipup is set.   This solved the problem beautifully and I can keep the drag on the reel loose so the reel spins freely.

[TogueHunter]

Another idea someone posted in a similar thread about Windlass Tipups is to take a couple of brightly colored round-dot stickers and stick them on the side of the spool.  That way you can tell at a distance if the spool is spinning!    Pretty clever idea if you ask me, because it's hard to tell with those white spools.  Instead of stickers I just used a black felt tipped pen and made a 1/2" wide stripe down the side of the spool... works slick. 
I think I'm going to take the basic idea that Hi-Tech cam up with only build a better, (heavier), and better version out of hardwood.  I like the idea, but know I can "build a better mousetrap" (fishtrap?) 

Some of the things I don't like about their design and will change are:
1. Make the base bigger and heavier so you don't have to stack snow and ice on the darn thing to keep it upright.
2. Use a much bigger spool
3. Instead of using a cheesy nylon wingnut on the spool use Teflon washers, a coil spring and a   stainless steel/nylon center locknut. (I want to be able to set that spool so it spins freely as possible so those light-bighting lakers won't feel a thing when they run with the bait)
4. A larger flag, that is square on the flag rod and not at a diagonal. (just put it down the shaft 2"). 
5. A longer and better grade spring steel flag shaft. (One that actually stands up straight and doesn't retain a 'memory') The present setup is sometimes hard to see when the flag is up.
6. Make the arm longer so it has a little more swing when jigging.
7. Add an eyelet on the arm to secure the hook better when you fold it up.

Don't get me wrong...  I think it's a pretty cool tipup, and the darn thing works!  But it can be a little frustrating at times the way it is built now, and it could work better.   Maybe the guys at Hi-Tech (or Al Lindner himself possibly?) read the ice shanty posts, and will see my ideas and incorporate them into the Windlass II TipUp, and pay me  royalties for my design ideas!  (Hey a fellow can dream can't he?)   

[esox slayer]

thats a dandy idea i also do that works swell

>>i catch many monsters with my windlass>>

Don't suppose you've got pictures of those "monsters" by any chance???

[esox slayer]

not everyone has a camerea in there back pocket some ppl can tell there budies a story and they believe them seems like u have an honesty problem

Well..let's put it like this:  first you insult bigredonice about his "punny" (your spelling)walleye, telling tales of the 15 pounders you've supposedly caught...now here you are talking about "monsters" on your windlass tipups...there used to be a couple guys on here that talked trash all the time, they got booted, just like you did when you called yourself peteamus....

now...you're talking about all these monster fish but just happen to not have a camera...how convenient....seems like the braggarts always have a reason why they don't have a picture of these "monster" fish they catch, lose at the hole, etc., etc....the guys that talk about the fish they catch in general have the pics to back up the story, or they don't talk about the "big fish" they've landed....

you ought to check out the thread in the grumpy old men forum about the trash talkers that lose them at the hole, etc...just scroll down through the postings...you'll see what the membership feels about guys that talk the talk, but don't walk the walk....Esox....

[NJ PIKER]

mostly use mine for pike with dead bait
last year in NY they out produced live bait 4 to 1
just brought 5 new ones for this year
mods include a 1/2" longer screw for the spool so a can add a couple of
nylon washers and a1/2" long spring. this way the spool can never freespool
or bind up. also drilled a 3/32" hole in an  1/8" from the end of the blade
to put hook in for storage.use to use the notch or line hole but hooks
would always fall out and tangle during transport.
also re-glued flag on end of spring the square way so i can fold them
around the spring when set. this way they don't flap in the wind and you don't
see them till they go up. a lot of my friends use polars. a sprung polar
flag is about the same height as a set windlass 

[TogueHunter]

Thanks for getting this thread back on topic NJ!!      I like your refinements, and noticed we are on the same frequency with our ideas.   I have a question for you about the Axel bolt that you changed so you could add washers and a spring.  Did you keep the same diameter bolt or drill out the spool and go with a heavier one?  What about the nut on the end?  I'm going to add a nylon center locknut, the drawback being I'll need to get out my pliers or a wrench to make tension adjustments.  (a minor thing)

[perchfisher89]

One of the problems I have is the flag wont pop! I watch it and watch it and when a fish bites the arm goes down but the flag doesn't pop. Are you supposed to put it on the spool so when the spool turns it lets the flag off? Cause its like its not letting the flag off...its like the flag just doesn't grip. Mabey your suposed to put the flag on the actual handle you turn the spool with? I could see that working, but I thought my book said on the spool itself. Thank for any input!

[NJ PIKER]

used a 6-32 screw 3" long with the large spools
my older ones came with a 6-32 but my new ones
came with a 4-40. just screwed them through the
 hole on the windlass and screwed the nylon wingnut
on to rethread it. will replace these when I find nyloc wingnuts
8-32 won't work as it is too big in dia.

[NJ PIKER]

perch> sounds like your line is coming off the bottom of the
spool instead of the  is coming off the top
put the flag end on the line on the spool
make sure nut isn't too tight so the spool spins:tipup:

[perchfisher89]

Nope, I checked and its coming off the top. When I pull line out with the flag set, it takes quite a bit of pulling against resistance for the flag to pop....I think a fish would definatley feel that. But, on the lake, the arm just went straight down and never tripped the flag at all. Really wierd. Happend 3 times in a row with my first time using it until I gave up.

[TogueHunter]

One of the problems I have is the flag wont pop! I watch it and watch it and when a fish bites the arm goes down but the flag doesn't pop. Are you supposed to put it on the spool so when the spool turns it lets the flag off? Cause its like its not letting the flag off...its like the flag just doesn't grip. Mabey your suposed to put the flag on the actual handle you turn the spool with? I could see that working, but I thought my book said on the spool itself. Thank for any input!

Yeah it's a touchy thing.  If you stick the flag under the spool to far it will never trip, and if you set it so it's just on the tip of the flag shaft and it sometimes false-trips.   Try gluing a small square of 60 grit sandpaper on the very end of the flag shaft like I described above, and you won't have any more problems.  The sandpaper will give just enough "grip" to the spool that it will not slip out on it's own, but will as soon as the spool starts turning.

[hunter17]

Yeah it's a touchy thing.  If you stick the flag under the spool to far it will never trip, and if you set it so it's just on the tip of the flag shaft and it sometimes false-trips.   Try gluing a small square of 60 grit sandpaper on the very end of the flag shaft like I described above, and you won't have any more problems.  The sandpaper will give just enough "grip" to the spool that it will not slip out on it's own, but will as soon as the spool starts turning.

I started to use the Ice Jigging Buddy Wind tip-up,it comes with its own hole cover and no springs and a real simply design.(Very smooth release)Takes just seconds to set up.Hole covers are a solar type that are not 100% but they do work. They also have outfished my other tip-ups when conditions are right.Check it out at WWW.tipup.net